The Xia family had just held a funeral and then a wedding. Although the two branches had already separated, this arrangement was still somewhat novel to outsiders.
Xia Dalang became more silent.
He knew that Zhou Yunniang had laid her cards on the table with Erlang for the sake of this status, and he shouldn't blame Erlang for getting married at this time.
But after all, he had just lost many relatives. Not only did his mother and father pass away one after another, but his wife and sister were also in a critical condition, and most of them were in grave danger.
Even if Zhu was still alive, what fate would await her if she fell into the hands of the barbarians?
Whenever Xia Dalang thought of these things, he felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife.
Although everyone was congratulating Erlang, he knew that his heavy expression was too depressing, but he really couldn't put on a happy face.
When everyone was drinking the wedding wine, Xia Dalang didn't drink a single glass. Instead, he stood up and left the table.
He was very upset.
But he also knew that Erlang would not blame him.
Erlang is a kind man.
If Xia Ji had not decided to move the whole family away without a formal status, Zhou Yunniang would not have been willing to follow Erlang, and Erlang would not have held a wedding at this time.
Erlang's wedding was very simple.
The dinner table was mostly filled with homely vegetarian dishes. Only a dish of pork belly stewed with beans, a dish of fish stewed with cabbage, a dish of tofu stewed with kelp, and a dish of pheasant stewed with wild mushrooms were considered outstanding.
However, the not-so-extravagant red still stung Xia Dalang's eyes.
His eyes were red, and he hugged A Liu tightly, coaxing her to drink some millet porridge with the rice grains filtered out.
Li Gan was also a little depressed.
He had received news about the three waves of assassins, but none of them had arrived yet!
It wasn't anyone else, it was my stepmother.
Li Gan was worried for several days. Almost ten days later, his subordinates finally got the news:
That group of assassins, while walking towards Beiguan Village, somehow got lost and ended up in Tonghua Village under the jurisdiction of Huazhi County.
By chance, he also met Xiao Silu's subordinates.
They were so frightened that they fled hurriedly into the mountains to the west, and no longer cared about killing Li Gan.
The Xia family in Beiguan Village repeatedly encouraged their close relatives and friends to move to the interior of the country, but basically no one was willing to listen to them.
The Xia family planned to leave after the Lunar New Year. After all, it was difficult to travel in the cold winter. If they missed their place to stay, they would have to sleep in the open air and suffer a lot.
However, things like disposing of property have to start now.
Now that the land was sold, they felt much more at ease - but they were so used to working on weekdays that they felt uncomfortable when they had some free time.
The house cannot be sold for the time being, so it is just right for my family to live in.
When next spring comes, after the second day of the second lunar month, the whole family will set off.
Before that, we need to buy a few mule carts.
The carriage is too expensive and not worth it.
Ox carts are too slow and not suitable for traveling.
Mule carts have strong load-bearing capacity, are cheaper than horse-drawn carriages, and are faster than ox-drawn carts, making them perfect for moving.
After all, the Xia family has elderly parents and young children. If they just rely on their own feet to walk slowly, they may not be able to reach their destination and will have to reduce the number of people on a large scale.
Their family moved away, just like when they fled to Bohai County to escape famine, just to seek a way to survive. Of course, they didn't want to lose their family members' lives in vain due to insufficient preparation.
Grandpa Xia sold the cow in tears. In order to protect the cow, he even dug a tunnel in his home that was more than one person high and two people wide.
Oxen are very valuable, and young and strong oxen are especially valuable.
But right now, this cow is only enough to buy a car.
After selling the cow, Old Man Xia felt empty inside. He couldn't sleep for several days and got up in the middle of the night to smoke his pipe.
As the Xia family was reluctant to leave, they disposed of their belongings one by one, gradually gathered enough money, and prepared to spend the winter frugally. When the spring came and the weather warmed up, they set out on their journey.
The Xia family consulted Li Gan's advice and decided to move to Ping'an County near the capital.
The biggest advantage of Pingan County is that it is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the remaining side faces the capital. Pingan Prefecture, the capital of Pingan County, is only a day and a night away from the capital by horseback.
Li Gan suggested they go to Jixiang County, which was under the jurisdiction of Ping'an County and the Zhili County of the capital. Jixiang County was stable and prosperous, with flat land and fewer taxes than other places.
The governor of Ping'an County was a capable man, and the magistrate of Jixiang County was the governor's confidant, having learned seven points of his skills. He governed Jixiang County in an orderly manner, leaving doors open at night.
Furthermore, the cities throughout Pyeongan County shared a common characteristic: high walls, thick walls, and deep moats. There were also water sources within the cities. And yet, no matter which direction you looked from, Pyeongan County was the hinterland, not the frontier, making war unlikely.
But it is not easy to move to this place and settle down.
The land prices there were more than double those in Beiguan Town. Houses there were also much more expensive than those in Beiguan Town. Even if one built it themselves, the cost of hiring workers and purchasing materials would still be much higher than what it would have cost in Beiguan Town.
But the Xia family has made up their minds.
Xia Daohua also asked him to help her buy land in Jixiang County. Her requirements were not high; the soil didn't need to be particularly fertile, just enough to feed her family and build a workshop and a house.
However, although the Xia family had good ideas, things did not go so smoothly.
First, the tax collectors who collected the autumn taxes went to the countryside.
Beiguan Village had experienced war, and many families' houses were not repaired. They had to make do with temporary cellars dug underground.
But the tax collector turned a blind eye to all of this, including the ruined fields.
Villagers were only required to pay taxes according to the booklet.
The Xia family was actually fine. Whether it was paying grain, silver, or cotton, linen, and silk, they paid it in full, neither too early nor too late.
But other families in the village did not have it so easy.
Although the villagers escaped death by hiding underground, many of them had their houses and fields destroyed and their belongings burned.
When the tax collectors came to urge them to pay taxes, they naturally could not pay.
Not to mention paying taxes, I don’t even know where our food for this winter will come from!
However, the tax collectors were more arrogant than anyone else, and they were accompanied by runners from the county government. Although the villagers were dissatisfied, no one could do anything to them.
Although the tax collectors did not dare to be too arrogant in front of Li Gan and others when they saw that they happened to be staying overnight in the village, it was their job to urge the villagers to pay taxes. Although Li Gan had a wide range of responsibilities, he could not control them.
Xia Daohua had the ability to teach them a lesson, but there was no need to do so.
Since the Xia family had already decided to move away, they naturally did not want to delay their own business over these trivial matters.
The tax collector stayed in the village for nearly a month before leaving.
After the tax collectors left, the village did not calm down. A new wave of military service and forced labor arrived in Beiguan Village about four or five days after the tax collectors left.
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